Pentagon, other agencies funded censorship firm that blacklisted The Post, House committee reveals

A House committee revealed Friday that nan Pentagon, different US agencies and nan European Union — in summation to nan State Department — person funded a for-profit “fact-checking” patient that blacklisted The Post.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote a missive to nan firm, NewsGuard, demanding much specifications astir nan public-private collaboration that led past twelvemonth to nan State Department being sued by blimpish outlets that were branded much “risky” than their wide counterparts.

NewsGuard has briefed committee unit connected contracts it had pinch nan Defense Department successful 2021, including nan Cyber National Mission Force wrong US Cyber Command; nan State Department and its Global Engagement Center; and nan EU’s Joint Research Centre.

“The Committee writes coming to activity further documents and communications from NewsGuard related to each past and coming contracts pinch aliases grants administered by national authorities agencies aliases immoderate different authorities entity, including overseas governments,” Comer informed NewsGuard CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz.

“The protection of First Amendment authorities of American citizens is paramount and attempts by authorities actors to infringe connected those authorities is vulnerable and misguided,” nan president warned.

The Oversight sheet successful June opened its investigation into NewsGuard’s evident information successful a government-funded “censorship campaign” to allegedly discredit and moreover demonetize news outlets by sharing its ratings of their reliability pinch advertisers.

Comer besides expressed interest astir NewsGuard labor sharing societal media posts exhibiting left-wing bias — successful usurpation of nan company’s policies — and nan patient throttling disfavored outlets’ “misinformation” — which successful astatine slightest 1 lawsuit included a published world study connected nan nonaccomplishment of lockdowns during nan COVID-19 pandemic.

“These wide-ranging connections pinch various authorities agencies are taking spot arsenic nan authorities is quickly expanding into nan censorship sphere,” nan president wrote. “For example, 1 hunt of authorities grants and contracts from 2016 done 2023 revealed that location were 538 abstracted grants and 36 different authorities contracts specifically to reside ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation.’”

The right-leaning websites Daily Wire and The Federalist revenge a civilian title against nan State Department successful December 2023 for allegedly utilizing payer dollars to money firms for illustration NewsGuard and nan Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which smeared nan outlets arsenic “purveyors of ‘disinformation.’”

Both firms person relationships pinch societal media platforms specified arsenic Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, arsenic good arsenic advertisers for illustration Dell Technologies, ExxonMobil and Nike, prompting concerns astir really their “disinformation” ratings would impact business.

In 2022, GDI distributed a “Disinformation Risk Assessment” that rated nan “riskiest” sites for actual news arsenic The Federalist, nan Daily Wire, Newsmax, nan American Conservative, Reason Magazine and nan New York Post, among others.

The New York Times and nan Washington Post were classed arsenic among nan “least risky.”

In a connection Friday, Crovitz said: “When nan Trump management first asked america for our information and insights astir disinformation campaigns from dispute overseas governments successful 2020, we contracted pinch them connected nan information that specified activity beryllium strictly constricted to disinformation from dispute governments, not US publishers. We’re proud that NewsGuard’s information and study has helped take sides Western democracies against Russian, Chinese and Iranian disinformation. NewsGuard was created arsenic a transparent replacement to censorship by governments aliases large tech companies, and we do not censor immoderate content.”

The 2020 and 2024 predetermination person brought alleged “anti-misinformation” and “anti-disinformation” efforts to nan fore — pinch The Post’s bombshell scoop connected Hunter Biden’s laptop being falsely branded a Russian plant by then-candidate Joe Biden.

Some Democrats person since been suggesting that nan only measurement to conclusion pushback to their policies is by crushing nan First Amendment.

President Biden’s ex-climate envoy John Kerry moreover called nan law state “a awesome block” to keeping group from believing nan “wrong” kinds of things.

“You know, there’s a batch of chat now astir really you curb those entities successful bid to guarantee that you’re going to person immoderate accountability connected facts,” Kerry told an assemblage astatine nan World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland.

“But look, if group only spell to 1 source, and nan root they spell to is sick, and, you know, has an agenda, and they’re putting retired disinformation, our First Amendment stands arsenic a awesome artifact to beryllium capable to just, you know, hammer it retired of existence,” he said.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ running-mate, Tim Walz, besides downplayed free reside protections during a 2022 quality connected MSNBC’s “The Reid Out.”

“I deliberation we request to push backmost connected this. There’s nary guarantee to free reside connected misinformation aliases dislike speech, and particularly astir our democracy,” nan Minnesota politician inaccurately stated.

Comer has asked for NewsGuard to supply by Nov. 8 each records of its contracts, grants aliases different activity pinch nan Pentagon, nan State Department and immoderate different national agencies aliases departments.